How do you decide what to build next as an indie hacker?
One thing I’ve been struggling with while working on a product is deciding what deserves my attention next.
There are usually so many things that could be improved at the same time. A new feature might help users, the website could use some changes, marketing needs attention, there may be bugs to fix, and then you also have ideas that seem exciting but are not necessarily urgent.
Sometimes I feel like I’m being productive because I’m working on something every day, but that doesn’t always mean I’m working on the right thing.
I’d love to know how other indie hackers handle this. Do you mainly follow customer feedback, analytics, your roadmap, or your own judgment?
Also, how do you decide when an idea is worth building and when it’s better to leave it alone for later?
Would be really interesting to hear how others manage priorities while building and growing their products.
One thing I've noticed is that being busy and reducing uncertainty aren't always the same thing.
Sometimes the hardest decision isn't choosing what to build next—it's recognizing which unanswered question is actually holding the business back.
Exactly, I agree. I’ve found that asking “what do I need to learn or validate next?” can be more useful than simply asking “what should I build next?” It helps separate real priorities from ideas that just feel exciting.
I appreciate you taking the time to explain your thinking.
I'd be interested in continuing the conversation by email if you're open to it. What's the best email to reach you on?
I run several products at once, so "what deserves attention" is a daily forced choice. Two filters that cut through it. First, I bias toward whatever removes a decision or a step for the user over whatever adds a capability — a good change usually makes the app quieter, not bigger, and those are the ones people actually notice. Second, for anything exciting-but-not-urgent, I write it down and deliberately don't build it; if it's still pulling at me a few weeks later and a real user has bumped into it, it earns a slot. That "busy every day but maybe on the wrong thing" feeling usually means you're following whichever task is loudest in your own head. Friction you've personally watched a user hit is a far better signal than your roadmap or a new idea's shine.